The present invention relates to flushing valves in general, and more particularly to a flushing valve arrangement which is equipped with an integrated shut-off valve.
There are already known various constructions of flushing valve arrangements of the above type. Such arrangements typically include a water inlet, a water outlet, a housing which bounds a flow passage connecting the water inlet with the water outlet, and a flushing valve unit which is arranged in the flow passage.
In one valve arrangement of this type which is known from the German Patent DE-PS No. 26 03 776, the piston which forms, together with a valve seat, the flushing valve is removably received in a cylinder and is guided in the cylinder for movement. This cylinder has an open side which is surrounded by a rim portion. The cylinder, in turn, can be pressed with its rim portion against a counterbearing which is provided in the flushing valve arrangement housing and which sealingly surrounds the valve seat, in order to achieve a shutting-off action. While it is true that the shutting-off action is integrated in this manner in the flushing valve arrangement, the construction principle embodied in this known construction can be nevertheless employed only in a flow-through fixture in which the water inlet and the water outlet extend in the same direction.
Moreover, the shutting-off action achieved in this known construction is not independent of the operating parts of the fixture so that, on the one hand, there exists the requirement that, after the performance of the shutting-off operation, the positions of the operating parts of the flushing valve arrangement which have been acted upon and displaced during such operation be again adjusted very accurately. Then, when maintenance operations and/or repairs are to be performed, for example, on the cylinder here under consideration itself, the shutting-off action cannot even be effectuated in such a case.
On the other hand, there are also known and in widespread use such flushing valve arrangements which utilize so-called angular fittings or fixtures, in which the water inlet extends substantially perpendicularly to the water outlet. In such known angular fixtures, angular valve shut-off devices separate from the flushing valve arrangement itself are provided. The provision of such separate shut-off devices not only necessitates a considerable additional expenditure, but also results in an esthetically unappealing appearance of the overall installation. Additionally, an eccentric arrangement of the water supply is required in such constructions.